Delta to begin nonstop service between Detroit and Rome

Delta customers can now book convenient nonstop flights between Detroit Metro Airport and Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport for service beginning on June 4, 2009.

The flight will make travel to the Eternal City more accessible through Detroit’s 115 easy connections and will complement Delta’s existing nonstop daily service between Rome and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and twice daily nonstop from New York’s John F. Kennedy-JFK International Airport.

“As the leading U.S. carrier to Italy, Delta is pleased to add nonstop connections for customers in Detroit and across the United States to Rome – Italy’s leading destination,” said Bob Cortelyou, Delta’s senior vice president-Network Planning. “We have strategically scheduled flight times between our Detroit hub and Rome to ensure optimal connections.”

Delta’s subsidiary Northwest will operate the service in cooperation with Northwest’s joint venture partner, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, using Airbus 330 aircraft with 298 seats - 34 in business class and 264 in economy. The airline’s A330s are equipped with World Business Class lie-flat seats featuring a privacy canopy, 60 inches of space between seats, and personal laptop computer power. Customers travelling in both the A330’s business and economy cabins enjoy on-demand in-flight entertainment with a wide selection of movies, games and on-board shopping.

To celebrate the new flight between Detroit and Rome, Delta is offering a one-way special fare of $699 from Detroit to Rome (based on a round-trip purchase) for travel through July 3, 2009. Special-fare tickets must be purchased by December 24, 2008. (Additional taxes, fees, baggage charges and restrictions apply).

Cargo customers also can book cargo shipments online at the new deltacargo.com.

Delta offers more service between the United States and Italy than any other airline. During the peak summer 2009 season, Delta plans to offer 59 weekly nonstop flights to and from Italy – 14 between Milan and New York-JFK and Atlanta; 28 between Rome and Atlanta, Detroit and New York-JFK; 11 between Venice and Atlanta and New York-JFK; and six between Pisa/Florence and New York-JFK.